A Union Chief's Bold New Tack

July 27, 2004

Q: What's SEIU's relationship to the liberal activist 527 groups such as America Coming Together (ACT) or the Media Fund? Both have vowed to raise millions in uregulated dollars -- including union money -- to defeat President Bush (see BW Online, 7/28/04, "Why 527 Is the Dems' Lucky Number").

A: We have full-time workers that will be in 16 battleground states by September [for ACT]. We will be ACT's largest contributor.

Q: How much are you spending, and where will the money go?

A: We're going to spend about $65 million on the effort. We asked all our members to add a $20 special assessment this year. About half a million have done that. Our money comes from